Being an Ethical Bride: Ten Ways to Recycle Your Wedding Dress

November 3, 2016

In one of our previous ethical bride posts we brought you ideas on how to find your perfect ethical wedding dress. But what about after the wedding, once you come back down to earth and settle into married life, you might be wondering – what on earth shall I do with my wedding dress?! Don’t sweat it, we’ve thought of some interesting ways to make sure your dress is reused and reloved…

one. dye it

If you’re anything like me then your dress is a hot mess right now. We got married in an outdoor, camping wedding so at the end of the night my dress had definitely seen better days. If I want to reuse it, I’m thinking I could dye it a different colour and use it as a fancy ball gown!

two. frame it

Take your dress to a bespoke framer and let them work their magic. While your at it, why not include your bouquet, wedding invitations, flower crown etc in it?!

three. sell it

You’ve probably spent a good deal of money on your dress, and to be honest you’re rarely going to get it out of the wardrobe much in the years to come. Why not sell it and make some pennies. You still have all the beautiful photos to remember it by, and this way it gets reused for another persons special day.

Feeling generous? Why not donate your dress to charity. We found this website which provides free weddings to people with a terminal illness and accepts dress donations.

six. repurpose it

There are so many ideas out there to repurpose your wedding dress, so you can treasure it for years to come. Test your sewing skills, or speak nicely to a sewing mad friend and try making your dress into pillow cases, cushion covers, bags, teddy bears, quilts, baby blankets, scarves, jewellery, purses, t-shirts…

seven. (under)wear it

Yes this apparently is a thing. You can get your dress repurposed into some fancy pants!

eight. party in it

Invite all your married friends around, wear your dresses, and party like its 1999.

nine. christen it (no, not like that…)

You dirty things. No we were thinking about your future little uns. Save your dress to turn into a christening or naming ceremony gown, that can be passed down the generations for years to come.

ten. renew it

Wear it again to renew your vows, or wear it at your Golden Wedding Anniversary – hope it still fits!

Have you repurposed your wedding dress or are thinking about it? Let us know how you get on, we’d love to see!